Medicinal Vegetables

Garlic - Garlic is an herb, a food, and a medicine. It is truly a powerful plant that can be used in a million applications. Its flavor is strongly pungent. Garlic has incredibly powerful anti-microbial properties, and the main phytochemical in garlic, allicin, has been shown to be effective in killing many different bacteria including MRSA [4]. Furthermore, “one milligram of allicin, the main active ingredient is garlic, is equivalent to 15 international units of penicillin. Each clove has from seven to thirteen milligrams of allicin, so three cloves contains the same antibacterial activity as a standard dose of penicillin” [2]. The spiciness of garlic is created by the sulfur-based nutrients called thiosulfinates, which kill cancer cells and reduce the risk of arterial blood clots [2]. Garlic is extremely high in antioxidants, and will attack and neutralize free radicals quicker than another other substance on the planet [7]! Eating garlic raw in a one-clove dose at least two times a day during an infection is recommended. If you can eat more, do it. You can't overdose on it, but it'll make your breath stink if eaten raw (that's how you know it's working - it is released into the blood stream in the lungs, aerosolized, and breathed out, filling your airways with anti-bacterial allicin). VERY IMPORTANT: in order to release the oil that contains allicin, you must CRUSH the clove at least 10 minutes before eating or cooking with it. If you do not do this, the garlic will not be nearly as effective in killing bacteria and other microbes in your body. Once the clove is crushed and sits for 10 minutes it can be cooked without damaging its antimicrobial properties. One way to make raw garlic more palatable is to crush the clove then chop it in tiny pieces and mix it in a teaspoon of raw organic honey. I've heard that raw garlic can give some people stomach aches a few hours after eating it, so in this case you can cook it, as long as it's crushed beforehand. You can also eat fresh parsley or drink wheat or barley grass juice with raw garlic to reduce the risk of “garlic breath”.

Onion – In Chinese medicine onions are used to reduce phlegm, fight infection, and help digest proteins [1]. Its predominant flavor is pungent. In a 2009 study, quercetin, the main phytonutrients in onions, killed type A flu virus better than Tamiflu, the drug that the government stockpiles during flu outbreak scares. Like garlic, extracts of onion are extremely efficient at killing human cancer cells, 100% and 95% effective, respectively. But only the less-sweet, spicier onions are the most effective at killing cancers, and have significantly more antioxidants and phytonutrients. The spicier onions have up to eight times more antioxidants than the average yellow sweet onion. In addition, smaller onions are more concentrated in antioxidants than larger onions. Small, red onions are much higher in antioxidants, and if you have a wide variety of choices at your local farmer’s market, pick small red onions, scallions/green onions, shallots, or chives. Chives are especially nutritious and have more antioxidants than the hottest red onion. Scallions are also a better choice, and make sure to eat the leaves. A good rule of thumb is that if your onions make you cry when you cut them, they are very nutritionally dense. But don’t worry if you’re not a fan of spicy onions - sautéing hot onions for a few minutes will mellow their spice and bring out their sweetness. The most nutritious varieties to ask for at the farmer’s market (or to grow in your own garden) are Red Walking onions, Red Baron onions, Red Wethersfields, New York Bolds, and the Western Yellow. One other thing to keep in mind is that onions concentrate their phytonutrients in their skins [2], so save them to make soup stock or add to your bone broth.

Leafy Greens and Lettuce – Most leafy greens are categorized as sweet and bitter, although kale is also pungent. As with most vegetables and fruits, the darker green or purple your leafy greens are, the more antioxidants and phytonutrients they contain. Furthermore, wild vegetables, especially greens, are more nutritious than cultivated vegetables. A few of the most medicinal of the leafy greens are dandelion greens (yes, that weed growing out in your garden – go eat it!), kale, purple lettuce, lamb’s quarters (also a “weed”), and arugula. Compared to these guys, spinach is pretty lame (but still good for you). Lamb’s quarters are absurdly nutritious and recent studies have shown that they are effective in fighting cancer, viruses, and bacteria. Compared to spinach, dandelion greens have eight times more antioxidants, two times more calcium, three times more beta-carotene, and five times more vitamin K and E. Calcium tastes bitter, so the more bitter your greens, the more calcium they’re likely to contain [2]. I like to sauté my greens or put them in a soup. I also add kale and lettuce to my smoothies – you can hardly taste it, really. In terms of lettuce, it is prescribed to dry damp conditions involving mucus production and is cleansing. With its mild flavor, it’s really great to add to your smoothies for extra nutrition and a dose of chlorophyll. Lettuce is also one of the easiest leafy greens to digest, so it can be eaten raw and combined with a whole variety of foods including fruit, fats, and proteins. Red, purple, and reddish-brown lettuce contains the highest levels of a phytonutrient called anthocyanin, which is a pigment and antioxidant (the same one that gives blueberries their blue color). The antioxidant lutein in dark green veggies protects the eyes and calms inflammation. In addition to dark greens and reds, look for loose-leafed lettuces, not those that grow in a tight head. The evidence on this is that the more the leaves are exposed to sunlight, the more antioxidants are created to protect those leaves from the sun (like sunscreen). A very useful bit of info that I gleaned from Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson, is the importance of properly storing leafy greens and other veggies in order to preserve their antioxidant content. I highly suggest you read her book or visit her website to get more details on this. But for leafy greens specifically, seal them in an airtight plastic bag, squeeze out the air, then poke 20 tiny holes in the bag and store it in the crisper drawer of the fridge. Leafy greens oxidize very rapidly, and so their phytonutrient and antioxidant content can be significantly reduced within a couple of days. By storing the greens properly you preserve a significant amount of the antioxidants, but in order to make the most of them you’ve got to eat the greens the day of harvest or within a few days. This is just one reason to grow your own food or buy it from the farmer’s market – the fresher it is, the more medicine is in it! Jo Robinson mentions, “if the vegetables are freshly harvested, they are among the most healthful foods of all. But by the time they are shipped, warehoused, displayed in the supermarket, and stored in your home refrigerator, they can lose up to 80% of their beneficial nutrients. Their natural sweetness disappears as well, and their bitter flavors become more intense. Furthermore, if you cook the vegetables in the most common way [i.e. boiling them], very few nutrients remain” [2]. Maybe Americans are eating less and less fruits and veggies not just because they eat more junk food, but also because the profit-driven agro-industrial complex has made fruits and veggies less tasty and less nutritious? The solution is to buy local or grow your own. I’ve decided that kale needs a special mention in this section, since it has a special place in my heart. Kale is a crucifer, a highly nutritious family of veggies that includes cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, collard greens, arugula, mustard greens, radishes, kohlrabi, and turnips. Kale is the most nutritious of all the crucifers (a very impressive family as a whole). In Chinese medicine, kale is used to ease lung congestion, and it is extremely rich in chlorophyll, calcium, iron, and beta-carotene [1]. It is extremely high in antioxidants, and its nutrient profile rivals that of wild greens. Awesome factoid: one serving of kale has more calcium than 6 oz. of milk [2]! Red leafed kale is higher in antioxidants than green kale, although I sure do like the funny rumples of dino kale! Here in Vermont, we have a saying: EAT MORE KALE! Well, I guess that’s kinda more of a demand than a saying. But I’ve heard that a brigade of local kale-worshippers is attempting to make kale the state vegetable. I’d vote for that. Store kale like lettuce. You can cook it (sauté or steam, NOT boil unless in a soup where you drink the water) or add it raw to smoothies. Kale and other leafy greens must be bought organic as they are on the “Dirty Dozen Plus” list.

Mustard greens are similarly beneficial to kale (also in the crucifer family) although
spicier in flavor. They are also used to treat lung congestion. Add to stir-fry’s and
soups, or use raw in a salad or smoothie for a spicy adventure.

A note on oxalic acid: it is an anti-nutrient that several vegetables use to protect themselves from predators, like us. When eaten, oxalic acid binds to calcium and other minerals in your body and carries it out. Demineralization of the bones and tissues happens on a very small scale, so there is no need to worry too much about oxalic acid unless you consume a significant amount of it every day. There are three leafy greens that are high in oxalic acid and these should be eaten in moderation: spinach, chard, and beet greens. Other foods that are high in oxalic acid are cocoa/chocolate, quinoa, parsley, and leeks [3].

Cabbage – Cabbage is another highly nutritious member of the crucifer family. Its predominant flavors are sweet and pungent. In Chinese medicine it is used to improve digestion, treat constipation, colds, whooping cough, heal wounds, and is effective in ridding the system of parasites. Cabbage is higher in vitamin C than oranges, and contains significant amounts of vitamin E and calcium in the outer leaves. Cabbage made into sauerkraut is a fantastic probiotic and appetizer. Napa cabbage is specifically used to treat inflammation and conditions with yellow mucus discharges [1]. One of the best things about cabbage is that it keeps very well in the crisper drawer of the fridge for weeks. Cook cabbage briefly or eat raw to maintain its antioxidant capacity and to reduce its ability to stink. I really like napa cabbage in my stir-fry’s. Red cabbage has six times more antioxidants than green cabbage, so choose red or purple cabbage when you have the chance. Cabbage is also great for juicing. A really great low-sugar, high-antioxidant juice is carrot, red cabbage, and celery juice. The carrots make the juice taste sweet, but it is much lower in sugar than fruit juice. Brussels sprouts are similarly nutritious to cabbage but respire quickly like kale.

Celery – Celery is used in Chinese medicine to dry up dampness and mucus problems, and it benefits the pancreas and digestive system. Its predominant flavors are sweet and bitter. It can also be eaten in combination with pretty much any food [1]. Eating a stalk of celery can be helpful in quelling sugar cravings. It makes a great juice that is indicated for treating diabetes, and is good to add in soups. I also like to use it as a vehicle for nutbutter plus some raisins or other unsweetened dried fruit for “ants on a log”. The nutbutter makes it a high-calorie quick snack. Celery must be bought organic, as it is on the “Dirty Dozen” list of pesticide-ridden veggies.

Carrots – Carrots strengthen the digestive system and are used to sooth coughs and gut irritation. Its predominant flavor is sweet. They are a “safe starch” in that they are very easy to digest when cooked and will not feed bacterial fermentation in the intestines. For this reason they are one of the only root vegetables that are allowed on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. Orange carrots are high in beta-carotene, an antioxidant and vitamin A precursor, which is beneficial in fighting infections and inflammation [1]. A fun fact is that the orange carrot is a mutant created in the 1500s in the Netherlands as a political statement. Before then all carrots were yellow, white, red, purple, or green. But the most nutritious of all carrots are the red and purple carrots. The purple-yellow carrot (purple outside yellow inside) has about 13 times more phytonutrients than the orange carrot. Red and purple carrots contain high levels of another antioxidant, anthocyanin, which may be even more beneficial than beta-carotene. Purple carrots are higher in beta-carotene anyway, and are actually sweeter than orange carrots. A fascinating study determined that regularly drinking purple carrot juice helped rats fed on the toxic Standard American Diet return to normal health – reducing inflammation, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, lowering blood triglyceride levels, and, most importantly, improved glucose response [2]. Even though carrots do contain a significant amount of sugar, the benefits of the phytonutrients in the purple variety may outweigh the harm of their sugars. In my personal experience, carrot juice has not caused me blood sugar spikes or reactive hypoglycemia. There are some important things to know about carrots to optimize their nutrition. First, buy them with the green tops on them, which is an indication of their freshness. Second, never peel carrots, always eat the skin. That’s where a majority if the antioxidants lay. Third, cooking carrots actually increases their nutrient availability, but they should be steamed, sautéed, or baked, not boiled. As with other veggies, boiling essentially leaches all of the nutrients into the water and leaves few left in the vegetable. In order to best absorb the beta-carotene in carrots they must be steamed whole, then chopped afterward and served with fat (olive oil, bacon fat, ghee, etc.). Lastly, store raw carrots in a sealed plastic bag in the crisper drawer. The older they get, the less sweet they become, so eat them fresh!

Beets – Beets, like purple carrots, may be one of those overlooked superfoods that don’t get much attention. Like carrots, they are a sweet root veggie high in sugars, but with a relatively low glycemic load. While the sugar profile of carrots includes glucose, fructose, and sucrose, the sugar in beets is pretty much 100% sucrose. Before I launch into the benefits of beets, please be aware of the sugar content in beets, and check your blood sugar to see if they cause you hyperglycemia or reactive hypoglycemia. That said, beets are incredibly nutritious and have been used as medicine all over the world for millennia. Beets are a good source of fiber, folate, and potassium, and are higher in antioxidants than almost all other domesticated vegetables except for artichokes, red cabbage, and kale. The beet’s red-pigmented antioxidant betalain is 85-100% effective at killing cancer cells in-vitro. Here is the most important and remarkable info relevant to CF: the nitrate in beets reduces the amount of oxygen required by your muscles during exercise, and studies have shown that this effect increases endurance and athletic stamina. One study showed that beet juice helps sedentary people (or those with pulmonary or cardiovascular disease) walk longer distances with less effort, an important finding for those CFers who are suffering from severely impaired lung function and fatigue. Another study showed that eating beets helps athletes run faster, which prompted the British Olympic team in 2012 to drink beet juice instead of Gatorade before their events. British runner Mohamed Farah went on to win the gold metal in the 5- and 10-km races [2]. Beets and carrots are the only root vegetables allowed on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and the GAPS diet. In order to get the most out of your beets, choose the most nutritious varieties and cook them as you would carrots (see above). Choose the darkest red beets you can find, preferably with the beet greens still attached (these are edible as well and very nutritious) – the greens are an indicator of their freshness. At the farmer’s market or in your own garden, choose the darkest red of the varieties, especially Ox Blood and Red Ace.

Daikon radish – Daikon is indicated for treating phlegm in the lungs, clearing up and expelling mucus, moistening the lungs, relieving indigestion, and detoxifying the body. Its predominant flavors are sweet and pungent. It is cooling and treats heat-related conditions like hemoptysis (coughing up blood) and headaches. Radishes are a member of the nutritionally-outstanding crucifer family. Radishes were used as a traditional Western remedy for gallstone, kidney stones, and bladder stones. They are also helpful in protecting against colds and flus [1]. You can add daikon raw to a salad for a little spice, or put it in a stir-fry to add some texture. They mellow when cooked and absorb flavors very well when sautéed or put in soups. Daikon is a mainstay of East Asian cuisine, and you can ferment it along with cabbage and spices to make awesome kimchi. Daikon is rich in vitamin C, copper, magnesium, and folate. The leaves are also medicinal, but harder to come by.

Mushrooms – Mushrooms, specifically the white button mushroom that you can most easily buy at grocery stores, are specifically indicated for treatment of lung congestion and infection. They are cooling and are categorized as sweet. Eating mushrooms satisfies the Chinese concept of “like heals like”, or in this case, pathogen kills pathogen. Since mushrooms are a fungus and grow as pathogens on trees, eating them introduces competition in your bodily ecosystem, starving out other pathogens. Of course, these edible mushrooms are not going to “colonize” you; they are completely harmless. But the concept works more on an energetic level - using the benign “pathogen” to kill the malignant pathogens that cause infection. Mushrooms have antibiotic properties and stimulate the immune system, boosting the white blood cell count to fight infection. Mushrooms also stimulate appetite, something that we CFers may need once in a while. They are high in B vitamins, the antioxidants selenium and ergothioneine, as well as copper and potassium. Mushrooms are also effective in fighting and preventing a variety of cancers [4]. Add them to stir-fry’s and soups. It is not recommended to eat them raw. To find even more medicinally beneficial mushrooms, head to the woods! But you’ve got to know what you’re doing before you go eating wild mushrooms – some of them are toxic and deadly; others are just damn tasty. Seek out a foraging expert to take you on a hunt; going only by a mushrooming book is generally not a good idea.

Pumpkin – Pumpkin is a cooling, sweet, and slightly bitter vegetable that is one of the only “safe starches” (along with carrots and other winter squashes) allowed on the gut-healing Specific Carbohydrate Diet. In Chinese medicine it is used to relieve mucus conditions in the lungs and throat, encouraging expectoration. Regular use can help treat asthma. It is also used to control blood sugar (in replacement of high-glycemic carbs) and strengthen the pancreas. Pumpkin seeds are used to expel parasites in the gastrointestinal tract [1]. Pumpkins are very high in beta-carotene, an antioxidant that improves mucus membrane health. It is a good source of polyphenolic flavonoid compounds and B vitamins [5]. They can be baked, cubed and steamed, or added to soups. Do not boil them or they’ll lose most of their nutrients to the water. Can be used as a replacement for sweet potatoes. Although pumpkins have a somewhat low glycemic index because of all the fiber, they do contain a good amount of carbohydrate, so watch your blood sugar when eating them.

Seaweed – Seaweeds and microalgae (spirulina) are extremely nutrient-dense, containing from ten to twenty times more minerals than land plants, given their constant exposure to nutrient-rich waters. Seaweeds are cooling and salty, used to transform phlegm, treat chronic coughs with yellow or green mucus, and rejuvenate the lungs. Seaweeds are excellent sources of iodine, calcium, iron, and many trace minerals. Because they are so nutrient-rich, they can be taken in very small doses to be effective. The seaweeds hijiki, arame, and wakame have ten times more calcium than cow milk. Kelp and wakame have four times more iron than beef [1]. Dulse flakes can be sprinkled on food in replacement of salt or just for some extra flavor. Wakame can be eaten as a crunchy snack like beef jerky, or rehydrated and added to stir-fry’s or soups. Kombu is a type of kelp that is thick and very nutritious. It is a natural fungicide and helps clear up yeast infections, and is said to help increase the depth of breath [1]. It is great to add to soups and soup stocks. Nori (what sushi rolls are made out of) makes a great crunchy snack, a wrap, or can be crumbled on top of any food for extra flavor and nutrition. There are U.S. companies that grow seaweeds on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, so try to get your seaweeds from a source as local as possible. I get mine from a tiny company in Maine that sells their seaweeds at my coop. When you can, try to avoid seaweeds that are grown and packaged in China, Korea, or Japan. Their carbon footprint is enormous, we generally don’t know enough about their environmental regulations to assess the cleanliness of the waters that these seaweeds were raised in, and we don’t know what kinds of chemicals or food additives have been used in the packaging process. So support more local seaweed harvesters when you can. On another note, on a whole-foods diet we generally want to stay away from the low-quality salts that are fortified with iodine (e.g. kosher salt) and instead choose high-nutrient sea salt or Himalayan salt. But since sea salt and Himalayan salt are not fortified with iodine, it is important to get your iodine from somewhere, and seaweed is incredibly high in iodine - just 0.2 teaspoon of raw kelp flakes will provide you with 2,260% of your daily needs. That might seem high, but you can't really overdose on a whole-food source of iodine, although it might be a different story for synthetic iodine.

Spirulina – Micro-algae (spirulina, chlorella, and wild blue-green algae) are some of the most ancient life forms on earth. They have more chlorophyll than any other plant, a molecule that is pigmented green and involved in photosynthesis. Chlorophyll itself is purifying (i.e. promotes wound healing through anti-microbial activity, detoxifies and deactivates carcinogens), anti-inflammatory, and improves organ function and cellular regeneration (i.e. builds blood, promotes beneficial intestinal flora, improves liver function, activates enzymes for better absorption of vitamins A, E, and K). Micro-algae are very ancient organisms that exists on the border of the plant and animal kingdoms, giving them unique nutritional properties. Spirulina is a primitive micro-algae that grows on the surface of ponds, and is the most well-known of the micro-algae. It has a very high beta-carotene content. Spirulina is also very high in nucleic acids (RNA and DNA) which help with cellular regeneration. Per gram it has the highest protein content of pretty much any whole food on earth. It also contains plant-form omega-3's and the anti-inflammatory omega-6, GLA. Much of its carbohydrate and protein content is in forms that are essentially pre-digested and rapidly assimilated, so spirulina has been used to treat people suffering from extreme deficiencies or recovering from starvation [1]. Spirulina is the cheapest of the micro-algae to buy and it is beneficial in small doses, a teaspoon or two in a serving. I add it to my smoothies or to vegetable juice. Plus, it gives your food a beautiful deep blue-green color!

Alfalfa powder – Alfalfa is a highly nutritious grass that, with its deep and extensive root system, absorbs a great amount of minerals, including trace minerals. It is a bitter plant, clears up mucus conditions, benefits the intestines, and detoxifies the body. It provides many nutrients including beta-carotene, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, sulfur, silicon, chlorine, cobalt, zinc, and vitamins K and P [1]. I add alfalfa to my smoothies and veggie juice. It has a very earthy flavor, which I like a lot. I add about 2-3 teaspoons into a smoothie. When it comes to fortifying our smoothies, high-calorie shakes, and other foods with vitamins and minerals, doing so with whole-food sources such as spirulina and alfalfa is much more beneficial and absorbable than consuming them as those synthetic nutrients that food and drug corporations use. Studies have shown that many of those synthetic or low-quality sources of vitamins or minerals are poorly absorbed because they are not assimilated within the context of a whole food. Our bodies were designed to absorb vitamins and minerals in certain specific configurations in food, and synthetic nutrients are often formulated in a way that reduces absorbability or blocks absorption of food-borne nutrients. A good example of this is folic acid, which is added to a lot of foods these days. Folic acid is a difficult-to-absorb form of folate, and it blocks the uptake of absorbable folate in the form of l-methylfolate. Folate is a critical epigenetic regulator, and is extremely important in the diets of pregnant women and growing children. The best sources of absorbable folate are leafy greens.